“It’s all about the light,” Joanna said. “Watch, when I move the whiteboard, how the shadows on the meatballs change,” She shifted the board so the reflected light brightened the dark side of the meatballs. “Can you see it?”
When I started blogging about Spanish food (November 2009) I took snapshots of the food I was writing about to illustrate the posts. Photographer friends gave me some picture-taking tips. Over the years, setting up recipes and shooting the results in my kitchen, my photos have improved, but are still pretty amateurish.
When one of those photographer friends was visiting recently, I asked her for some coaching. Joanna Butler, retired photo-journalist and an active fine-arts photographer (she has shown her work in Spain, Norway and America), agreed to spend a morning shooting in my kitchen and stay for lunch.
For our photo workshop in my kitchen, I had ready a heap of nicely browned meatballs in one bowl, the almond sauce in a pan to be heated. I set out several platters to choose from. I had an array of props. As almonds are an important ingredient in the sauce, I gathered a few almond blossoms from the trees in my garden. I put out almonds in their shells, some skinned ones, some fried ones. Saffron, nutmegs, olive oil and a leafy bouquet of parsley. A loaf of bread. A bowl of cooked rice as a side dish.
Once we were satisfied with the lighting, we arranged the meatballs on a mosaic platter with just a few almonds around it, nothing more. Here we go. Click, click, click.
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| No pop at all to this first shot. Where did the golden saffron sauce go? |
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| Out of focus! |
We compared shots on her iPhone and my camera. When enlarged, we could see that my photos were blurred, hers were sharp. “Maybe, use a tripod because your hand is moving too much. Or, raise the ISO so you can use a faster shutter speed.” Joanna encouraged me to trade in my camera for an iPhone, but I am used to a compact camera and mobile phones frustrate me.
We switched the platter of meatballs to a new surface with a different light source and shot some more. We placed the food on the floor, right in a sunny window. Joanna stretched a gauzy cloth across the window to filter the harsh light.
“Now, let’s put the meatballs on another platter and do it again.” We didn’t fiddle with styling too much or use any of the props I had on hand. Knowing what to put in or take out of a picture requires a whole different skill set. The goal of this workshop was just to make a picture of meatballs that looked good enough to eat.
We tried different light and different angles. Joanna used a step stool to get an overhead shot of the platter on a dark wood background. She made another at table level, as a diner might view the meatballs. Which is best, the white or dark background?
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| My best shot, but the color still is not right. Some editing needed, but I will leave that to the pros. |
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| Is this the beauty shot? Those meatballs look good enough to eat! (Photo by Joanna Butler) |
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| Meatballs for lunch! The professionals may not eat what they shoot, but I do. |
By lunch time we each had 20 or more pictures in the can. I scooped meatballs onto two plates. “One more shot,” I said, “and we eat.” I set the plates on the table. “So, what do you think of the meatballs, the spicing?,” I asked.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you. I can’t taste anything,” Joanna replied. “I lost my sense of taste when I had Covid! But, I still like sitting down to eat with friends.”
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| Fork and phone, Joanna reviews the meatball photos. |
Thanks, Joanna, for your coaching. I learned a lot. Let’s see if I can put some of it into practice. (See below for one of Joanna's recent photos.)
Here is the recipe for the Meatballs in Almond-Saffron Sauce pictured.
More versions of albóndigas, meat-, chicken-, fish- and bread- balls:
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| Photo by Joanna Butler |
Your pictures are normally very good and probably because you take them in good daylight (...and you have a very good eye). The first shot lacks light and contrast, whereas the second has too much contrast. The third has the light and not too much contrast. Stick with the camera you like - phones can take amazing photographs, but there's no control over what they do. To ensure that pictures are sharp, set the shutter speed at 1/60th second or higher. I love albondigas and those look fabulous! It's a great shame that Joanna has lost her sense of taste - it would devastate me. Elizabeth David lost her sense of taste after suffering a stroke - I think it came back eventually, but what a cruel twist of fate!
ReplyDeleteMadDog: Thanks for your critique. The third photo, the best, was taken by Joanna on a phone. Now, how do I get my pictures to be more light, less contrast, true colors?
DeleteI use the Windows photo software on my laptop to lighten my photos of food.
DeleteYour photographs usually look excellent. If you diffuse the light on a bright and excessively contrasty day, that will do the trick. A white sheet might do it, or you can buy professional cloth diffusers or a roll of Rosco Tough Rolux.
DeleteMad Dog: I appreciate your kind words. I am working on a new project and have to provide photography, so I am challenged to improve. Would you believe, I don't have any white sheets?
DeleteHa ha - well white sheets are not always good, sometimes they are not true white and can introduce a colour cast. Diffused daylight is probably best, but that can sometimes be too flat. If you get images that are slightly flat or slightly contrasty they can probably be fixed and definitely improved with Photoshop.
DeleteThat I will leave to the production people. Would take to long to learn Photoshop.
DeleteGetting good food shots is tricky. So, would you consider allowing readers the capability of searching for specific foods, dishes on your blog? Blogger will do it for you using the labels. It would be very helpful. Gracias!
ReplyDeleteAriel: Thanks for your comment. The blog does indeed have a Search function--see the tiny window in upper left corner (on desktop and tablet monitors). I notice that on a mobile phone screen, you have to click on at the bottom of the blog to get the Search window. Hope this helps.
Deletere.: Search, I meant to add, on mobile phone, at bottom of the blog, click on "View Web Version" to get format with the Search window.
DeleteAh, I didn't even see that box. Great news, thank you.
Delete